Group offers reward in possible torture of terrier found wandering in El Monte

Henry

Officials have opened an investigation, and a rescue group is offering a $5,000 reward, after a dog was found with possible chemical burns all over its body in El Monte late last month.
Someone dropped the approximately 10-year-old male Boston Terrier as a stray about 5:45 p.m. May 29 at the Baldwin Park office of the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control, 4275 N. Elton Street, DACC spokeswoman Evelina Villa said.
The animal had sores or wounds all over it’s body, which resembled chemical burns, however the nature of the dog’s injuries had not been conclusively determined Wednesday, she said. The animal was ultimately euthanized by a veterinarian the next day.
Veterinarians examined the dog and determined, “It was necessary. He was in pain,” Villa said.
A Boston Terrier rescue group known as Boston Buddies took custody of the dog and took it for a second veterinary opinion in hopes of saving its life, according to Villa and the organization. They named him Henry.
“Our vet believes that Henry’s condition was caused by a chemical burn,” according to a statement on Boston Buddies’ Facebook page. “In addition to the damage to his skin, one of Henry’s eyes was severely ulcerated – perhaps another result of chemical torture.”
“He was emaciated,” Boston Buddies Director Rachel Farmer. “In multiple places, you could see the muscle sticking through. He couldn’t even stand. He was hypothermic.”
It was determined that Henry could not be saved.
“Although we had hoped that we could stabilize Henry and try to heal him, upon the recommendation of the vet and seeing how much pain Henry was in, we decided to help Henry cross the bridge. Henry is now out of the immense pain that he was suffering – but we are determined to find the individuals responsible for this.”
To that end, the group is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect, should it be determined the dog was, in fact, the victim of abuse.
“We put up $1,000 ourselves,” Farmer said. “We received $4,000 in donations from the public,” Farmer said, adding that the majority of donations came from local residents.
“We hope that this amount of money will provide the impetus for someone to come forward,” according to Boston Buddies’ statement.
Anyone with credible information was asked to contact Boston Buddies at 310 364-4543, or by email at contactus@bostonbuddies.org.
A DACC officer has been assigned to investigate whether the dog was the victim of abuse, or disease, Villa said. “We’re still looking into it.”

PHOTO courtesy of the Boston Buddies.

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